MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Oil Palm Smallholders Urged to Adopt Integrated Farming
Oil Palm Smallholders Urged to Adopt Integrated Farming
21/11/2016 (Bernama) - The Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities has urged oil palm smallholders to engage in integrated plantation to include the cultivation of white and black pepper and cocoa.
Its Deputy Minister, Datuk Datu Nasrun Datu Mansur, said integrated farming would enable them to increase their productivity and income through the optimisation of land use.
"Oil palm also depends on climate, if the weather is not good for three, four months, the productivity will be low...but if we also have cocoa and pepper cultivation, this would help the smallholders as the time rotation between the crops are different," he said.
He said this to reporters after launching the inaugural Hello Commodity programme in Sabah here, Sunday
In his address, he said the cultivation of other crops such as white and black pepper would enable the smallholders to generate higher income.
"The market price of black pepper is about RM28,000 per tonne currently and for white pepper, RM50,000 per tonne," he said.
"The government has introduced various incentives and schemes to enhance the income of smallholders in the country and for integrated plantation they can get the information including advisory services from related bodies such as the Malaysian Palm Oil Board," he added.
Datu Nasrun also said Sabah recorded the biggest plantation acreage for oil palm plantation in Malaysia, totalling 218,699 hectares (ha) involving 34,170 smallholders.
The state recorded a total of 37,453 smallholders involved in rubber plantation spanning 146,884ha, 5,602 people are engaged in cocoa cultivation (6,847ha) while 140 smallholders are involved in pepper cultivation covering 30ha.
Meanwhile, he said commodity and commodity-based exports were valued at RM88.2 billion for the January-September 2016 period.
He said the ministry was committed to elevate the development of the commodity sector through various programmes and activities including the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil formulation, Kenaf Industry Development Plan and palm oil-based biofuel programme.
"Through these programmes, I am confident that revenue from commodity products exports of RM242.6 billion targeted under the National Commodity Policy could be achieved by 2020," he said.
Its Deputy Minister, Datuk Datu Nasrun Datu Mansur, said integrated farming would enable them to increase their productivity and income through the optimisation of land use.
"Oil palm also depends on climate, if the weather is not good for three, four months, the productivity will be low...but if we also have cocoa and pepper cultivation, this would help the smallholders as the time rotation between the crops are different," he said.
He said this to reporters after launching the inaugural Hello Commodity programme in Sabah here, Sunday
In his address, he said the cultivation of other crops such as white and black pepper would enable the smallholders to generate higher income.
"The market price of black pepper is about RM28,000 per tonne currently and for white pepper, RM50,000 per tonne," he said.
"The government has introduced various incentives and schemes to enhance the income of smallholders in the country and for integrated plantation they can get the information including advisory services from related bodies such as the Malaysian Palm Oil Board," he added.
Datu Nasrun also said Sabah recorded the biggest plantation acreage for oil palm plantation in Malaysia, totalling 218,699 hectares (ha) involving 34,170 smallholders.
The state recorded a total of 37,453 smallholders involved in rubber plantation spanning 146,884ha, 5,602 people are engaged in cocoa cultivation (6,847ha) while 140 smallholders are involved in pepper cultivation covering 30ha.
Meanwhile, he said commodity and commodity-based exports were valued at RM88.2 billion for the January-September 2016 period.
He said the ministry was committed to elevate the development of the commodity sector through various programmes and activities including the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil formulation, Kenaf Industry Development Plan and palm oil-based biofuel programme.
"Through these programmes, I am confident that revenue from commodity products exports of RM242.6 billion targeted under the National Commodity Policy could be achieved by 2020," he said.